Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

In Dan Ramm’s Long Branch, Mason Powell is an aging, out-of-work television actor who played the lead role as the sheriff in the very popular western series Tin Star. But COVID and the changing face of Hollywood have left him on the sidelines. To make matters worse, his financial manager had been stealing from him, so not only was Mason insolvent but he was also deeply in debt. Mason remembers that the house he bought for his late mother in rural Georgia is an asset and he returns to his childhood home to sell it. He reunites with many old friends, but when he questions the murder of his first love, some do not want the truth revealed. They are prepared to kill him if necessary to prevent him from discovering what really happened.

Long Branch is Dan Ramm’s first book after a career writing for television and movies. At the end of the story, he shares that many of the small-town characters are based on real people he met while on location. This explains how realistic they are and why they are so easy to relate to. I was constantly kept guessing about who I should trust, and who I thought the real villains were. I was also hoping it was not any of them as I liked them all so much. Apart from Mason Powell himself, Buck, the retired lawyer was perhaps my favorite character, a good example of appearances being deceptive. The mystery surrounding Crawford and his birthright was another puzzle to solve and a secret to reveal. I loved some of the author’s phrases, such as: “Little if any Hollywood productions during that period meant every ant was fighting for the same sugar cube.” This book moves along at a steady, page-turning pace, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, twisting and turning one way and another. I have to confess I read this almost in one sitting and having started it, I did not want to put the book down. Thank you, Dan Ramm, for writing Long Branch and I hope there will be many more in the series.